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King Charles III's image to appear on Australian coins this year: Officials

An image of King Charles III will soon appear on Australian coins, more than a year after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, officials said Thursday. The gold Australian dollar coin will be the first with an image of the new British monarch, who is also Australia's head of state, Royal Australian Mint chief executive Leigh Gordon said. About 10 million of the dollar coins will be circulating by Christmas, he said. Assistant Minister for Treasury Andrew Leigh said the government had not wanted to rush the coin transition following the queen's death in September last year. Certainly, we're keen to get as many of the new coins with the king's face on them out there as quickly as possible, Leigh said. The remaining denominations - 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins plus a Australian dollar 2 coin - will be rolled out with the king's left profile and without a crown during 2024 based on demand from banks. The latest queen's image wore a crown. In maintaining tradition, the right pro

King Charles' coronation: Rising popularity can't mask monarchy's problems

Less than one-third of people aged 18 to 24 favor keeping the monarchy, about half as many in that age group as did 10 years ago

2022 in review: Russia war to COP27, top events that shaped the world

The year 2022 is coming to an end and a lot has happened that shaped the world in the year. Let's have a look at some of these significant events

Year in review: From Lata to Queen Elizabeth, icons the world lost in 2022

Take a look at some famous faces that will no longer be with us at the end of 2022

United Kingdom to declare bank holiday May 8 to honour King Charles III

The United Kingdom will have another reason to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, for the government has declared a special public holiday to mark the occasion. The holiday will be on Monday, May 8, capping a three-day weekend that will begin with the coronation. The coronation of Charles' late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was also marked with what is known as a bank holiday in Britain. The coronation of a new monarch is a unique moment for our country. In recognition of this historic occasion, I am pleased to announce an additional bank holiday for the whole United Kingdom next year,'' new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. I look forward to seeing people come together to celebrate and pay tribute to King Charles III by taking part in local and national events across the country in his honor. Charles will be crowned on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London. His ceremony will be designed to preserve the historical traditions of the monarchy while looking to the future followi

Sunak's prize for predicting Truss chaos: He gets to clean up the mess

Just seven weeks after Truss traveled to meet Queen Elizabeth II to become premier, Sunak will meet King Charles III on Tuesday to formally replace her

Queen Elizabeth II died of old age, reads her death certificate

Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away peacefully in her Scotland summer residence of Balmoral Castle three weeks ago, succumbed to old age, according to an extract of the late monarch's death certificate released on Thursday. The document, released by the National Records of Scotland, notes Britain's longest-serving monarch died at 3.10 pm local time on September 8 due to "old age". The Queen's daughter, Princess Anne, is named as the "informant" on the document as it would have been her who notified the local registrar of her mother's death. When paying tribute to her mother, the Princess Royal revealed that she was with the head of state in her last moments. Anne, who accompanied her mother's coffin as it travelled from Balmoral to London via Edinburgh, said: "I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest mother's life." The Queen was laid to rest at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in a private burial ceremony following a state funeral attended by around 100 ...

King Charles III may not replace Queen Elizabeth on Australia's $5 notes

Just weeks after Queen Elizabeth II's death, Australia is already hinting it might not replace her with King Charles III on its five-dollar banknotes when they're eventually reprinted

Banknotes featuring King Charles III will be in circulation by 2024: BOE

The central bank will reveal the image of the new monarch to be used on the polymers by the end of the year, it said in a statement

After Queen Elizabeth's funeral, UK's royal family must reform to survive

As recession looms, however, and the pound sinks to its lowest in nearly four decades, it is time to ask: Can the monarchy reform fast and radically enough to adapt?

Long live the queue: 'The greatest bit of British performance art'

Watching the dogged determination of those in the queue to view the Queen's coffin was both awe-inspiring and comic - a marvel of organisation, discipline, and singularity

Australian lawmakers pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, discuss republic

Australian lawmakers on Friday paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, with some also weighing in on the republic debate, after they returned to parliament from a break taken to observe the queen's death. An obscure and longstanding protocol in Australia bars parliament from sitting for 15 days following a British monarch's death. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had decided to follow the protocol. Albanese has previously said he wants an Australian president to replace the British monarch as the nation's head of state, although he has avoided getting entangled in the republic debate since the queen's death. Each chamber of Australia's parliament the Senate and the House was spending Friday passing condolence motions for the late monarch as well as congratulating King Charles III on his accession to the throne. Albanese said it was hard to grasp the queen was now just a memory after her seven-decade reign. She was a rare and reassuring constant amidst rapid change, Albanese ...

Australia holds national day of mourning for British Queen Elizabeth II

An Australian national day of mourning for the late Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday centered on Parliament House, where dignitaries placed sprigs of golden wattle the national floral emblem in a wreath. The focus at the ceremony at Parliament's Great Hall was a portrait of the former monarch of Britain and Australia in a yellow dress adorned with golden wattle motifs that she wore on her first night in Australia in 1954, known as the Wattle Painting, created by Australian artist William Dargie. The queen's death on Sept. 8 came in the Southern Hemisphere spring when wattle blooms, its golden flowers and green leaves reflecting Australia's national colors in what has become a symbol of unity. The government declared Thursday a nationwide public holiday and the ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley, King Charles III's representative in Australia. Both had returned Wednesday from the queen's funeral in London. The holiday has been

UK official thanks India for 'senior representation' at Queen's funeral

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has expressed gratitude for the representation by Indian President Droupadi Murmu at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, saying it was really noticed. President Murmu attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday morning. "I would like to say a huge thank you for the very very senior representation that India sent to Her Majesty the Queen's funeral. I had the opportunity to meet President Murmu and it was really noticed," Cleverly told PTI in an interview here on Wednesday on the margins of the high-level UN General Assembly session. Cleverly, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom under the new administration of Prime Minister Liz Truss, also met his Indian counterpart External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar late on Wednesday evening at the sidelines of the UNGA. During her three-day visit to London, Murmu visited Westminster Hall and offered tributes

Denmark's Queen Margrethe II tests positive after UK monarch's funeral

Denmark's Queen Margrethe II has tested positive for the coronavirus after attending the funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, the royal palace said Wednesday. In a statement, the royal household said that Margrethe, 82, who has been on the throne for 50 years, cancelled her official duties after the Tuesday night test. The palace said her oldest son, heir to the throne Crown Prince Frederik, and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, would take the queen's place hosting a dinner with Danish government officials and members of parliament. Margrethe previously tested positive for the virus in February. At the time, the palace said she had received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. The queen was among the dignitaries who attended Queen Elizabeth II's funeral Monday at Westminster Abbey in London. Margrethe's half-century reign makes her Europe's longest-serving monarch following the Sept. 8 death of Elizabeth, 96, who ruled for 70 years. Out of respect for the late British monarch, ...

Flags back at full mast as UK's state mourning for Queen concludes

The UK's 10-day state mourning came to an end with national flags back at full mast across government buildings on Tuesday, a day after Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral in London and a private burial ceremony in Windsor. The royal family will continue to observe another week of mourning announced by King Charles III, who flew to Scotland with Queen Consort Camilla for a period of private mourning. Senior royals are not expected to carry out any public duties during the extended mourning period and the flags at royal residences will remain at half-mast till next Tuesday. The Queen, Britain's longest-serving monarch, died peacefully at her Balmoral Castle residence in Scotland on September 8. She was laid to rest beside her late husband, Prince Philip, in a private burial service at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. The government said over 250,000 people had turned out to queue for many hours over the past week to file past the Queen Lying-in-State at Westminster Hall ahead of

More than 250,000 people saw Queen Elizabeth II's lying in state: Report

An estimated over 250,000 people saw British Queen Elizabeth II lying in state in London when her coffin was displayed for public viewing for a little over four days before the funeral, according to a report on Tuesday. The Queen died aged 96 at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on September 8. People queued 24 hours a day from late Wednesday until 6.30 am on Monday, the day of the Queen's funeral, to see her coffin in Westminster Hall. The line stretched from parliament along the south bank of the Thames and past Tower Bridge to Southwark Park. Culture secretary Michelle Donelan told Sky News that more than a quarter of a million "went through parliament" but that it was an approximate figure and the government is still "crunching the final numbers". The mayor of London's office said an estimated 80,000 were in Hyde Park, 75,000 in ceremonial viewing areas and 60,000 on South Carriage Drive. Overall numbers were much higher as crowds formed on virtually the entire route to Windsor

British PM Liz Truss says queen's death is 'difficult moment' for UK

British Prime Minister Liz Truss says the death of Queen Elizabeth II is a very difficult moment for the country, and acknowledged that dealing with it has been a challenge for her untested new government. Truss took office just two days before the queen died on Sept 8, and the first days of her term have been spent attending memorial services and the funeral of Britain's longest-reigning monarch. Truss has had to temporarily set aside her policy plans, and said she was focused on making sure we as a nation mourn her late majesty and welcome King Charles. It has been a momentous period and a period of great grief and sadness in the United Kingdom, and I think you have seen a huge outpouring of love and affection for her late majesty as well as a huge amount of warmth towards King Charles III, Truss told reporters late Monday as she flew to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. At the funeral we saw such huge public support and I have also seen that from world lead

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After historic funeral, Queen Elizabeth II buried at St George's Chapel

After a majestic funeral service at Westminster Abbey, Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was interred alongside her husband, late Prince Philip, at a private burial at St. George's Chapel on Monday evening. "The Queen was buried together with the Duke of Edinburgh, at The King George VI Memorial Chapel," the Buckingham Palace stated on the official Royal Family website. Earlier, the roughly 40-km route by road from Westminster Abbey in London, the site of a grand state funeral attended by thousands earlier in the day, to Windsor included the coffin processing by state gun carriage and then in the state hearse, a customised Jaguar, to the steps of the chapel. Thousands lined the streets on the route of this final procession, which Buckingham Palace said had been drawn up with the public in mind, and the Order of Service for the Committal Service was discussed with the late monarch over a number of years. "We have come together to commit into the hands of God the soul of his servant Queen